Tolling the Rhine in 1254: Complementary Monopoly Revisited
Given a demand for Rhine travel, an Emperor faced a classic complementary monopoly problem: how many toll stations to have, where to site them, and what toll to charge at each.
Shifting Experiences: The Changing Roles of Women in the Italian, Lowland, and German Regions of Western Europe from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period
Specifically, the thesis compares and analyzes the changing roles that women could employ economically, politically, socially, and religiously.
One World under the Sun: Cosmography and Cartography in the Liber Floridus
To a modern cartographer a map should represent geographic reality by means of coordinates such as latitude and longitude. Not one of the cartographic images in the Liber Floridus corresponds to this definition, yet not a single work on historical cartography omits the early-twelfth-century encyclopaedia
Guinea Pigs were popular pets during the Renaissance, study finds
The guinea pig was introduced to Europe during the 16th century by Spanish conquistadors. A Belgian archaeozoologist has found new evidence which suggests that the guinea pig was kept as pets by the wealthier middle class.
The Legal Framework of Divorce ‘a mensa et thoro’ and the Administration of Justice within the Low Countries
This paper discussed the divorce procedures in the Low Countries during the late middle ages and early modern period.
Working women and guildsmen in the Flemish textile industries: Gender, labor and the European Marriage Pattern in an era of economic change
Traditionally the European marriage pattern(EMP) is considered as one of the key elements in the demographic history of Early Modern Europe, preparing Europe for the transition towards the Industrial Era. But recently, mediaevalists have also tried to claim its origins…
The Elusive Netherlands. The question of national identity in the Early Modern Low Countries on the Eve of the Revolt
The identity of the Low Countries was also muddied by contemporary debates about the correspondence between ‘Gallia’ and France and between ‘Germania’ and ‘Deutschland’.
Looking a medieval gift horse in the mouth. The role of the giving of gift objects in the definition and maintenance of the power networks of Philip the Bold
Guenée dubbed the late fourteenth century le temps des alliances’, pointing to the effect on politics and administration in France of visible, recognised networks. These might be based on kinship, marriage and godparenting, where the obligations were well understood, but not necessarily written down
For a Long Century of Burgundy. The Court, Female Power and Ideology
The field of Burgundian studies has witnessed a shift in emphasis over the past generation from overviews which were biographical and dynastic in emphasis, such as Richard Vaughan’s volumes on the four Valois dukes, to studies of the Burgundian ‘state’ and the regions it ruled over, exemplified in the work of Walter Prevenier, Wim Blockmans and, more recently, Bertrand Schnerb.1
The Medieval Origins of Capitalism in the Netherlands
One of the fiercest and most productive historical debates – and one of the most ideology-laden – has been that on the transition from feudalism to capitalism.1 Although interest in this specific debate and its ideological implications seems to be waning now, the importance of reconstructing and explaining long-term changes in economy and society is still clear.
Diplomatic aspects of Charles the Bold’s relations with the Holy See
Both Paul II and Sixtus IV, the two popes whose pontificates spanned the reign of Charles the Bold, made great efforts to bring about peace among the rulers of Christendom.
Modernization of the Government: the Advent of Philip the Good in Holland
As I have shown elsewhere, the county of Holland underwent a structural change in the second half of the fourteenth century, when economically the emphasis shifted from agriculture to trade and industry and demographically from the country to the towns. The institutions however did not change.
John Crabbe: Flemish Pirate, Merchant, and Adventurer
The decades before the outbreak of the Hundred Years’ War were notoriously fruitful in commercial violence.
Shaping Medieval Markets: The Organisation of Commodity Markets in Holland, c. 1200 – c. 1450
The late Middle Ages witnessed the transformation of the county of Holland from a peripheral agrarian region to a highly commercialised and urbanised one. This book examines how the organisation of commodity markets contributed to this remarkable development
Guilds in late medieval Flanders: myths and realities of guild life in an export-oriented environment
The opinion of historians on the social and economic role played by guilds in late medieval and early modern cities has changed considerably throughout the last century.
‘…Men famous in combat and battle…’: Common soldiers and the siege of Bruges, 1127
The conflict at Bruges illustrates the role of common soldiers and non-combatants in warfare – that they participated in large numbers, and were essential to the conduct of siege operations.
The Ghent Altarpiece in 100 Billion Pixels
It is now possible to zoom into the intricate, breathtaking details of one of the most important works of art from the medieval world, thanks to a newly completed website focused on the Ghent Altarpiece.
“The World on the End of a Reed”: Marguerite Porete and the annihilation of an identity in medieval and modern representations – a reassessment
Central to the aims of this thesis is the question “how did Porete „fit‟ the religious landscape of her period?” A seeming obstacle to this pursuit are claims from within the scholarship that Porete did not „fit‟ at all, but was, rather, as an aberration amidst other female mystics of the period.
“Neither Mine Nor Thine”: Communist Experiments in Hussite Bohemia
Because of such circumstances the intoxicating influence of idealism and utopia continued to be pressed forward. One pervasive ideal was communism.
State power and illicit sexuality: the persecution of sodomy in late medieval Bruges
The study of marginal groups in the late medieval Low Countries is much neglected. The issues of when, where and how homosexuals came to be marginalized, to be regarded as a danger to social order, have not been specifically investigated in this part of Europe.
The politics of factional conflict in late medieval Flanders
In his influential study on political factions in medieval Europe, Jacques Heers demonstrated the importance of factionalism in the political life of the middle ages, at the level of cities and regions as well as at the ‘national’ level.